A Parade of Casual Lovers
by TheGalwayGirl
Summary: Lizzie Bennet Diaries. The Darcys are on their annual skiing trip, and William is acting weird. Gigi is determined to figure out what...or rather who...has got him acting so emo. Basically, this was my excuse for getting that awesome line from Bernie Su's hangout last night into a story. Takes place around Christmas 2012 in the LBD universe.


_A/N: So I was inspired to write this after last night's hangout with Bernie Su and Co. because, really, the "parade of casual lovers" line was positively begging for context, and honestly, I just adore writing Darcy and Gigi scenes. I hope I'm not the only one who writes a ficlet around this line, because I'm dying to see what other people do with it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! As always, reviews are much appreciated __ Obligatory disclaimer—I am in no way affiliated with the creators of LBD (though, damn it, I wish I were), nor am I the ghost of Jane Austen disguised as a twenty-something English teacher—I'm just a little bit in love with the worlds they've created. _

Gigi and Darcy were sitting together before dinner in the sundrenched breakfast nook of their cabin at Lake Tahoe. Gigi, wearing leggings tucked into Uggs and a giant cardigan, was sneaking glances at Darcy every so often as she thoughtfully stirred her cocoa, slowly thumbing her way through the latest issue of Cosmo. Darcy was typing furiously on his laptop, his face intent on the screen as he ignored the cup of French Roast Gigi had placed beside him that was growing steadily colder.

Gigi Darcy was a lot of things, but she was nothing if not perceptive (at least when it came to William—her judgment had been proven faulty when it came to…other things); she could tell the instant her big brother picked her up from the airport for the annual Christmas ski trip that something was off. For one thing, it wasn't the soft murmur of NPR that greeted her when she first climbed into the rental, but an undeniably melancholy song about unrequited love that she briefly recognized as Bon Iver before Darcy quickly punched the off button. She could tell he was embarrassed by the way he tucked his chin into his neck like a turtle, so she didn't ask him about his uncharacteristically emo song choice, and instead filled the resulting silence with bright chatter about her upcoming classes.

If that wasn't enough, he was barely speaking to her. Gigi knew that she was one of the few people that her brother really opened up to, but lately he seemed to be pursuing a policy of radio silence when it came to any questions about his personal life. She hadn't noticed it quite as much over the phone, when he kept the conversation focused on her schooling and tennis and his work, or even at Thanksgiving when he spent most of the time trying to subtly salvage Caroline's disastrous attempts at dinner and could rely on the melee of nattering that erupted whenever she and Fitz were in the same room to hide his taciturnity.

But now, when it was just the two of them in the cozy cabin, Darcy's more-pronounced-than-usual introversion was apparent.

Gigi had a vague recollection of this particular brand of Darcy appearing once before when he was in high school, after some stupid girl named…Natalia? Natasha? something vaguely Russian-sounding at any rate—broke his heart. She remembered weeks of self-imposed solitude, a Dashboard Confessional LP on repeat leaking out from underneath his door (how present-day Darcy would cringe to remember such a thing), and several volumes of terrible poetry that she found when she was snooping on a rare occasion when he had emerged from his room to search for Oreos and black coffee.

Gigi wasn't exactly sure what had happened this time, though if she really thought about it, she could place the change in his demeanor around the beginning of November when he lost the undercurrent of restrained giddiness in his voice. This was also around the time when he began spending more and more time at the Pemberley Digital headquarters, and more and more nights sleeping on the couch in his office.

Gigi knew that if she were going to get anything out of him, she would have to be extremely delicate in her approach, and slowly and unobtrusively manipulate the conversation around to the subject of love and relationships without alerting him to her true purpose.

"Oh, look!" she said suddenly, "'Epic Sex: Get It, Give It & Do It Again.' That sounds like a really interesting article, don't you think, William? What about you? Have you had any epic sex recently?"

Darcy choked on his sip of icy coffee and looked up in alarm at her over the top of his Macbook.

Subtly, thy name is Gigi Darcy.

She continued blithely, "I mean, we haven't talked about girls in ages! Have you been seeing anyone I don't know about in the past couple of months?" She gave him a coy smile.

Darcy was still looking at her, head tilted, saying nothing.

"Will?"

He raised his eyebrows as he pursed his lips and said dryly, "I'm trying to imagine the parade of casual lovers that you think I'm keeping from you."

"So there _has_ been a parade of casual lovers!" Gigi countered.

"Gigi—no. Don't be ridiculous."

"But there was someone…" She refused to give up. "Come on, big brother. Spill. You've barely said two words to me since we got here, and this is _supposed_ to be our yearly bonding time."

Darcy sighed and closed his eyes. "Fine. There was—someone," he said tightly.

"And?" Gigi prompted.

"And nothing. I told her how I felt and she made it _abundantly_ clear that she did not reciprocate my feelings," he said matter-of-factly.

"She must be an idiot then."

Darcy shook his head. "No. She was entrancing. Sharp and—_funny_ and beautiful. I was just idiotic and too wrapped up in my own feelings to ever consider hers." He let out a sardonic snort. "I was so sure that she couldn't possibly have any objections to me, even though I expressed my own concerns about her family and social standing."

"Wait, what? To her face?" Gigi covered her face with her hands. "Oh, William. You didn't." She peered at him from between her fingers. "You did!" She groaned. "_What_ am I going to do with you? Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could have…practiced with you, or something. Seriously, Will, sometimes I think that you really shouldn't be allowed to open your mouth outside of the boardroom."

"I don't disagree."

"Well, what are we going to do? Surely you could just, you know, _apologize_ for being such a pretentious douchebag," Gigi glared at him pointedly, and continued, "and beg her forgiveness. I mean, obviously you could have," she paused, "—worded things a bit better, but can't you send her some flowers and a note that says you know you acted like an unmitigated and comprehensive ass? And then offer to take her to La Folie to make up for it!"

"First of all, 'we' are not going to do anything. I know you, Georgiana Darcy, and you are to stop any and all thoughts of matchmaking right now. This isn't _Emma_." He ignored Gigi's pouty face and sad puppy dog eyes. "Secondly, there isn't anything to be done. Lizzie did not mince her words—she _detests_ me."

"William, I think you're being a little over dramatic," said Gigi, rolling her eyes.

Darcy exhaled. He was too tired to argue with her over this, and so he simply muttered, "If you say so," before closing his laptop and announcing that he wasn't hungry and was going to go take a shower.

Gigi waited until he left the room before she whipped out her phone and texted Fitz.

_Fitz—you have two seconds to tell me everything you know about William and this Lizzie girl. –G_

_GGD! Sup, lady?! Ooh, Lizzie B. Darcy finally told you about her? –Fitz_

_Briefly, but I know he's not telling me the whole story. Come on, spill! What do you know? –G_

…_I probably shouldn't even tell you this… -Fitz_

_But I know you're going to anyway, so stop pretending to hold out on me. –G _

_You are a persuasive woman, Little D. Are you sure you're up for this though? –Fitz_

_Yes. I haven't seen William this broken up over a girl in years. Bring it on. –G_

_Alright, alright. I'm going to shoot you a link. But, if Darcy asks, you didn't get it from me. –Fitz _

_My lips are sealed. Thanks, Fitz. –G _

_Go here. Start from the beginning: watch?v=KisuGP2lcPs. You're in for a long night, my friend…_

Gigi grabbed a bag of puffy Cheetos and her headphones, and then crept up to her room, where she opened her laptop and settled into bed.


End file.
